[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #31156: TinyMCE doesn't always clean up and remove the non-breaking spaces it's creating

[WordPress Trac]

#31156: TinyMCE doesn't always clean up and remove the non-breaking spaces it's
creating
-------------------------------+-----------------------------
 Reporter:  Denis-de-Bernardy  |      Owner:
     Type:  defect (bug)       |     Status:  new
 Priority:  normal             |  Milestone:  Awaiting Review
Component:  TinyMCE            |    Version:  4.1
 Severity:  normal             |   Keywords:
  Focuses:                     |
-------------------------------+-----------------------------
 TinyMCE occasionally creates two or more invisible non-breaking spaces
 (encoding `0xA0` or, in my case on OS X Yosemite using Safari 8.0.2,
 `0xC2A0`), but then doesn't clean them up properly.

 The rational for inserting them at all seems sane. For instance, the
 `0xC2A0` `0xC2A0` character sequence appears when you inadvertently type
 space twice as you type. If you delete one of the two spaces, they get
 replaced to a single space as needed.

 A problem occurs, however, when you copy and paste, placing the cursor
 between two unbreaking space characters and hitting space will yield
 unexpected results and incorrectly keep the character around.

 {{{
 TinyMCE content: foo  bar baz

 > select replace(post_content, char(0xC2), ' ') from wp_posts where id =
 11;
 +----------------------------------------+
 | replace(post_content, char(0xC2), ' ') |
 +----------------------------------------+
 | foo ? ?bar baz            |
 +----------------------------------------+
 1 row in set (0.00 sec)
 }}}

 Select bar and *one* of the spaces before it, and paste the string test.

 {{{
 TinyMCE content: foo test baz

 MariaDB [mesoconcepts]> select replace(post_content, char(0xC2), ' ') from
 wp_posts where id = 11;
 +----------------------------------------+
 | replace(post_content, char(0xC2), ' ') |
 +----------------------------------------+
 | foo test ?baz            |
 +----------------------------------------+
 1 row in set (0.00 sec)
 }}}

 It seems like an old unreported bug, too. See for instance
 [https://wordpress.org/support/topic/the_content-is-inserting-weird-
 0xc2a0-characters?replies=7#post-438700 this reply] that references the
 problem 8 years ago.

 I imagine my own site isn't the only one with non-breaking space clutter
 around. In addition to reporting the bug upstream to MoxieCode (I you've
 the relevant contacts to do so), I'd like to suggest that we actually try
 to salvage polluted posts during the next upgrade.

--
Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/31156>
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